Freaky Fusion Fragments
by RainStorm Riddles
Summary: We all know that Freaky Fusion could have been a great movie, if only they shifted the attention from Frankie to the fusions. These fragments are what would have happened had a day been added in between their training whith the hybrids. (I share what I have, no promises on updates.)
1. Clawvenus

Freaky Fusion Fragments: Clawvenus

Frankie ran up to her combined friends with a broad smile. "Good news ghouls! Ghoulia knows how to fix all this!"

"Oh thank ra!" Cleo exclaimed. "I always knew she'd be able to figure it out. She's so good at solving my problems."

"The bad news," Frankie continued, "is that there's no way she can get that whole thing fixed by tonight. So…"

Clawdeen felt a sinking sense of dread, and in was accompanied by some worry on Venus's part. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're saying we are going to be stuck like this all night!?" There came that tickling sensation in her nose yet again. Clawdeen immediately tried to hold her breath but… to late. She let out a monster of a sneeze. The grass around her immediately started to twine around her boots and she kicked it back with an annoyed growl.

Venus felt guilty about Clawdeen's, or rather their, continuous sneezing outbursts. But the more she tried to regain control over the pollen, the worse it seemed to get.

"Yeah, pretty much," Frankie admitted.

"Always knew she'd pull through, huh?" Toralei sneered.

"Excuse me, but if my best friend needs an extra night to fix your mess, Toralei," Cleo countered, "then so be it. Although I do admit that it's highly inconvenient."

"Come on, ghouls, it's only one night. I'm sure we'll be able to make it work out. It's not like we've got much choice," Robecca said.

"We'll just treat it like a sleepover!" Draculaura said. "You can all come over to my house!"

"Hmm," Jinafire said thoughtfully. "While I admire your enthusiasm, many of us have obligations we must follow through on." She gave Clawvenus a significant look.

Clawdeen knew exactly what Jinafire was referring to. The two of them, along with Skelita, had been planning on spending the afternoon working on fashion designs for a competition they had entered in together. It was extremely important they get it done on time. At the same time she thought of this, she felt Venus's nagging worry about something totally different, but there was no way she was going to give up valuable fashion time just to go hand out fliers by a dumpster.

"Soooo, no sleepover then?" Draculaura asked with a little disappointment.

"Sorry love," Lagoona said. "Maybe another time."

"Hold on," Frankie said, "there's more."

"Not more dreadful news?" Cleo lamented.

"Not at all!" Frankie assured her. "I've been talking to the new students—"

"You mean the hybrids?" Toralei asked skeptically.

"Yep. And they think they might be able to help us out."

Venus perked up a bit at this news, although she could tell Clawdeen shared Toralei's skepticism. Sure they hand been a little cold to them before, but some buds were just slower to opening up. At this point, she was ready to accept any help they could get. "It's worth a try."

* * *

"I've been fluttering from school to school ever since I was just a little larvet. It was always really tough, but I found that meditation could help me clear my head and help me gain control. And I think it can help you too."

"It's worth a shot," Clawdeen said. She wasn't super confident about this meditation idea, but she didn't have any better ones. Neither did Venus, as far as she could tell. _Heaven forbid Howleen finds out about this_ , she thought to herself.

"Alright, clear your head."

This was the easy part for Venus, the garden was always where she felt calmest, even though the floral scents were a little overpowering to her newly sensitive nose. Unfortunately, it didn't have quite the same effect on Clawdeen, so she waited a little before giving Bonita the all clear.

"Now take a deep, soothing breath. Try synchronizing your movements and, as we move forward, your minds."

Clawdeen was quick to take over their mind's wanderings, and Venus was okay with that. She knew how wolves were with the whole dominance thing so she let Clawdeen's imagination unfold into what she quickly understood was Clawdeen's future fashion empire. Their movements fell into place, much to Bonita's delight. But Venus knew that wouldn't do much good unless they were able to synchronize their emotions as well, so she began to try to project herself onto Clawdeen's fantasy.

Just as Clawdeen thought they were doing well, she suddenly found her mental self stumbling over something. Something… green? She tried to push it out of her mind like an unpleasant thought, but something pushed back. And just like that Bonita suddenly cried out.

"Not what I had in mind!" Vines were everywhere, and the poor moth was tangled in the middle of it. Clawvenus shot off the ground and began helping her.

Clawdeen wasn't sure what Venus had been trying to do, but whatever it was it hadn't worked. She fought back the urge to growl in frustration.

Venus wasn't entirely sure what had happened either. It was like she'd hit some sort of mental wall within their mind, and the moment she struck it they lost control. "I'm so sorry," she told Bonita.

"It's alright, it's alright." Bonita said. "Let's try again." And they did. Again. And again. And again. But each try ended like the last.

Clawdeen felt her temper steadily rise. Every time she was sure they'd gotten it, every time they were able to move as one, Venus tried to change things and it all went downhill. Why the heck was she still doing it?

Venus was well aware of Clawdeen's growing ire, but Bonita had told them to try to merge their emotions. Yet every time she tried, she struck that same wall. She'd figured out that it was when she tried to push against it that they would both lose control. She wondered if Clawdeen even realized she was putting up the wall.

"Okay, stop, stop." Bonita finally said. "I don't think we'll be getting anymore progress until we try to figure out what keeps going wrong."

"I'm trying to figure that out as well," Clawdeen growled. "It all goes well at first, but then… Venus, what were you tryin to do?"

"I was just trying to do what Bonita said—"

"By tangling everything in vines?"

"By synchronizing our minds." Venus had a slight thorny edge to her voice now. "But every time I do, it's like I run into a wall and I don't know how to get past it."

"A wall? I don't remember anything about walls," Clawdeen huffed. To her surprise, however, Bonita looked as though the situation had been made crystal clear.

"Okay, I think I get what's happening. Clawdeen, where does your mind go when we start meditating?"

"Where it always goes, to the future where I rule the fashion world."

"And Venus?"

"Nowhere, really. I just see what Clawdeen imagines. It's actually pretty impressive."

Clawdeen was a little surprised by the compliment, and her inner puppy started to wag her tail. "But, haven't you been imagining anything? Shouldn't I be able to see what you picture?"

"Like I said, I keep hitting that wall."

"Here's what I think is happening," Bonita said. "Clawdeen is used to her mind being her own personal territory, so she automatically assumes control and inadvertently blocks Venus out. You've got to remember that you are sharing a split mind now, kinda like I have to keep in mind my split heritage. If I'm not aware of what I'm doing, my moth side will take over and I'll start to eat my cloths."

Clawdeen snorted in laughter, but Bonita's expression didn't change. "Wait, you're serious?"

Bonita held out her sleeve so that Clawvenus could see the numerous holes chewn through it. "The only fix is to be aware of what you're doing. So, Clawdeen, you need to be more aware of how Venus is feeling, and Venus, you keep waiting until Clawdeen assumes full control before coming in. Don't hesitate to remind her you're there." Bonita looked down at her watch. "It's been over an hour, so we should probably head out. You guys keep trying to open up your minds and we can try again tomorrow."

"Thanks for your help, Bonita," Venus said.

"Yeah, thanks a million," Clawdeen agreed.

Bonita inclined her head with a smile, then fluttered off.

"So, what now?" Clawdeen asked Venus.

"Well, we should probably at least figure out where we're gonna stay tonight. I guess we could call that somewhat of a plan."

"Oh, no, I forgot! I'm supposed to do a bunch of housework tonight because mom's getting home really late and we've got family coming over this weekend." Clawdeen groaned. "She's gonna kill me if—"

"Hey, it's cool," Venus cut her off. "I don't mind, we can stay at your place. Just let me send a text to make sure Chewlian gets fed tonight. He'll give me the cold leaf for a week if he misses his snack time."

She sent the text, and Clawdeen saw the time on their phone: 5: 13. Crap. "I'm also supposed to meet up with Jin and Skelita at five-thirty," Clawdeen said guiltily. "See, we entered this super intense freaky fashion competition together, and we have to submit our designs by the end of this week." Clawdeen fealt Venus's mind flick to something with a bit of worry, and Clawdeen's heart sank.

"How long were you planning to work?" Venus asked. She felt bad putting Clawdeen on edge like this, but she was responsible for about seventy percent of the school garden's care. Most of the plants could fair well enough on their own, but there were plenty of exotic ones that needed special care. She couldn't just ditch them for a day.

"Only for an hour or two. Pleases, Venus, this means a lot to me."

"Alright," Venus said. "Just as long as you promise to let me come to the garden afterwords."

"But we are in the garden," Clawdeen said. She didn't mean to be rude, but they had just spent the last hour surrounded by plants and the scents were starting to get to her.

Venus shook her head. "What I mean is that I have to work in the garden. I'm in charge of it. Especially the snapdragon sprouts who are getting a little too aggressive with each other."

Clawdeen didn't know that flowers could be aggressive, but she wasn't about to complain. She had been worried Venus would try and rope her into some 'save the planet' movement. How bad could a little gardening be? "I promise! Now, can we go meet up with Jin and Skelita?"

"Lead the way. And I mean that literally. I have no idea where we're going."

* * *

"We are so doomed," Clawdeen moaned. As much as she liked a good flame pattern, the scorched look didn't go with everything. As opposed to getting some valuable fashion work done, they'd spent the entire hour and a half trying to prevent Lagoonafire from ruining what they already had. Not to mention Venus's pollen had gotten everywhere. It is going to take them forever to wash it out of all the fabrics. Grrr.

"It could have been worse," Skelita tried to reason. "At least none of us are hurt."

"Speak for yourself. I'm not sure my nose will ever be back to normal after all-ah-ah-achoo!" Clawdeen managed to turn her head away just in time to prevent dusting Skelita with pollen. "Ugg."

"Maybe we should go outside for some fresh air," Venus suggested. She didn't mention it to Clawdeen, but they needed to get out into the sun. She had a feeling that the werewolf was unaware of how the lack of sun was contributing to her irritation.

"Cause that totally helped last time," Clawdeen said sarcastically.

 _Yep, totally unaware._

"Go ahead, Clawdeen," Skelita said while restacking some loose cloth. "I don't think Jinafire will be coming back after that, and I can handle the rest of this mess on my own."

Clawdeen looked around the wrecked room doubtfully. "You sure? Cause I don't mind—"

"I'm sure," Skelita said a little too quickly.

Right. Stupid pollen gets everywhere. Maybe it was a bit unfair, but Clawdeen couldn't help feeling irritated at Venus as they left the building. As soon as they stepped out into the sun, Clawdeen felt… relief? "What in the…"

"Better now?" Venus asked.

"Yeah, actually." Clawdeen couldn't explain it, but she was suddenly feeling much more relaxed and energized at the same time. "Venus? What is this?"

"It's the sun," she admitted feeling a little embarrassed. She usually preferred to cover up how important sunlight was to her, or else everyone would start treating her like some delicate daisy. "That's how plant monsters get a lot of their energy."

It took Clawdeen a moment to process this. "Weird," was all she could think to say.

"Would you mind if we go to the garden now? I still have some things take care of," Venus said.

"Yeah, alright," Clawdeen agreed. "As long as we aren't dealing with anymore fire, I'm good."

"Oh, um…" Venus said. "You remember those snapdragons I mentioned earlier?"

"Lemme guess, they breathe fire?"

"Just a little."

"Watever, just do what you gotta do."

The majority of the school's garten was located in an outside field surrounded by hedges. In the center was an enormous greenhouse big enough to house a full grown dragon.

Clawdeen had never felt inclined to expore inside the greenhouse herself, though she'd heard it held some pretty furrific plants and even a few restricted areas. The first thing she noticed upon entering was the overwhelming tangle of smells. The second thing she noticed was that in was warm and humid. Not a good combination for werewolf hair.

It was definitely weird being able to smell every minute thing within the greenhouse, and Venus wondered if she'd be able to stay focused with such an overload on her senses. That question was soon answered as a scent she had encountered many times already that day rose above the rest. "Oh, no," she groaned. She sprinted over to a door labeled AUTHORIZED WORKERS ONLY and pulled out her key.

Clawdeen had picked up what Venus had smelled too. "The fire breathing flowers?"

Venus nodded. "They're getting to crowded in the planters they're in now, so they've started fighting each other for space. I'm gonna have to repot them all before they burn themselves out."

Sure enough, the small table hosting seven fist-sized dragon-like flowers was smoking dangerously. The little dragon-heads were hissing and snapping at each other, flaring their brightly colored floral mains. Some had torn leaves while others had soot covered mussels. The worst by far was a little blue one who looked as if it were trying to disappear into its pot.

The moment they saw Clawvenus, they turned their angry hisses from each other to her.

"Easy there guys." Venus grabbed a nearby spray-bottle. "It's just me." Most of the snapdragons immediately stifled their growls and a few cocked their heads in confusion. The largest one, however, didn't let up. He flaired is fiery orange petals warningly as they approached. "Don't even think about it," Venus told him.

"Venus? Why's that one giving us the devil eye?" Clawdeen asked nervously.

"Cause he thinks he's tough enough to challenge me." Venus made sure to keep an eye on him as she began to spray down all the scorched areas. Some of the others hissed or flared up when she got close, but a stern glare was enough to make them think twice. As soon as she was in range of the big one, however, he sucked in a sharp breath. But Venus was too quick for him. She grabbed his snout and pinched it shut, holding the dragon firmly in place. "Na-ah, no. We are not doing this again." He tried to tug away a few times, but as Venus's grip tightened he whimpered submissively. She let go, and he rubbed his head against her hand. "There we go, much better," she said gently and scratched his petals.

"Oh, I get it," Clawdeen said. "It's a miniature dominance system. Just with flowers. That breath fire."

"Yep," Venus said. "Trouble is, whenever I'm not around this one assumes he's the new alfa and starts bullying everyone else." She pointed to the little injured blue one. "If they aren't separated soon, they'll all end up like that.

"Poor thing," Clawdeen said. She may not understand flowers very well, but she definitely understood what it was like to be at the bottom of the pack.

Venus nodded. She walked around to it and genly reached into the soil. Unlike the others, this one started purring and rubbing up against her.

"Aww, this one's kinda sweet," Clawdeen said as they lifted it out of the dirt. She held it up for a better look. Then, out of nowhere, it bit her. "What the—!?" Clawdeen nearly dropped the plant.

"She does that sometimes," Venus said, completely unconcerned. "It's a trust test the weaker ones do to see how you'll retaliate. All ya gotta do is keep your cool and she'll be happy." Sure enough, the snapdragon was back to purring and looking up at them with innocently large eyes.

"Evil flowers," Clawdeen muttered.

They carried it toward a table set in the back where Venus rubbed aloe vera onto the dragon's scratches. It didn't give them any more trouble while they transferred it to a bigger pot.

"Okay," Venus said while grabbing a black box and the newly potted snapdragon, "I've got to carry this one through there," she pointed to what looked like a tunnel made out of dark green foliage, "so be a quit as you possibly can."

"Why? What's in there?"

"Let's just call it my rescue project."

Clawdeen had a feeling Venus was leaving out some major details about this rescue project, but she didn't say anything because they were close to the tunnel now. It looked like a bunch of vines crawling up some mesh structure and growing thicker together as the tunnel went on. It was nearly pitch black at the center before it lightened again and then opened to a sun lit pond outside.

Venus set the blue dragon down by the water, then opened the box and reached inside.

"Oh, no!" Clawdeen yanked their hand back. "No way!" Inside the box was a mass of creepy, crawling, black spiders. "You are not going to make me touch those. It's bad enough watching Howleen feed worms to Cushion."

"They aren't poisonous," Venus said a little amused. "And I can't just not feed them. Look, we've gotten her all hopeful." The blue snapdragon was liking her lips and watching the box eagerly.

Clawdeen groaned. "Do you at least have gloves?"

"Wow, is big bad Clawdeen really that squeamish about a few bugs?" she taunted.

"I am not squeamish," Clawdeen huffed. And, to prove her point, she took a deep breath and plunged her hand into the box. It took all of her self control not to sudder as the spiders tickled her hand.

Venus tossed the fistful of arachnids at the snapdragon, and closed the box. "See?" She said. "That wasn't so bad. Oh, and yes, I do have gloves we can use when I feed the rest."

"You could of said that before I put my hand in there," Clawdeen grumbled.

They both fell quiet as they walked back through the tunnel. Halfway through, the fur on the back of their neck stood on end and Clawdeen got the inexplicable feeling that something was watching them. Not a second later did Venus freeze, and Clawdeen got an overwhelming sense of imminent danger. Without tuning their head, Venus directed their eyes, and Clawdeen saw it. A giant, black and green trap with a gullet big enough for three full grown mansters and numerous pearly-white teeth protruding from its mouth. Two beedy, slitted, red-pupiled eyes glared down at them from it's flat head. It was then that she realized what she had originally thought were multiple vines were all a part of this one, giant, monster plant. Clawdeen was briefly reminded of the dinosaur books Clawd used to keep as a pup. Before he chewed them up, that is.

It moved his head toward them ever so slowly, and Venus took a slow step back. "Easy there big guy," she said soothingly. "Easy, it's just me." She thought franticky to Clawdeen ' _do not make any sudden movements_.' She took another cautious step back. It let out a long, low, and menacing growl. She froze in place again.

A lot of things were running through Clawdeen's head in that instant, a few of which where: _Holy crap that thing is so gonna eat us_ and _Venus you are insane_ and _if this is the end, I really hope someone publishes my sketchbook so I can become one of those famous artists who only become famous after they die_ and _I really, really don't want to die right now._

The dinosaur plant, as she came to think of it, finally stopped it's growl, but it didn't back away. And then, the worst thing that could possibly happen in that moment happened. Clawdeen got a tickly sensation in her nose and, before she could do anything to try and stop it, she sneezed.

The beast recoiled with an angry shriek, and both girls thought the same exact thing: RUN!

They dived out of the way as the trap's jaws snapped closed over the space where they had been seconds before. Clawdeen's athletic nature kicked in and they tore through the tunnel at top speed and into the soft light of the greenhouse. They came to a shaky halt next to the work table.

"Venus," Clawdeen panted. "What. Was. _That_?"

"Sythious Droseraceae, commonly known as The Death Trap," Venus said breathlessly. "It's classified as one of the top ten deadliest plants in the world."

"Then why the heck do you have it!?"

"Like I said before, I rescued him."

" _Seriously_?"

"He's an endangered species."

Clawdeen had to hold back her exasperation. If Venus wanted to risk her own leaves to save killer plants, then whatever. "Just tell me we don't have to anywhere near it again."

"Not with a ten-foot pole," Venus agreed.

After almost getting eaten, repotting the rest of the snapdragons seamed positively delightful. Clawdeen didn't even complain about the spiders as they fed the last dragons.

"Great," Clawdeen said feeling rather accomplished. Her hands were a bit tired after thirty minutes of digging through dirt, but she'd be able to live with it. "Was that all?"

"Um, Clawdeen? Have you ever seen how big this garten is?" Venus asked. "Like, really seen it?"

"No. Why?"

* * *

 _Two hours_ , Clawdeen thought bitterly. She had been gardening for two whole hours. Venus just had to be in charge of all the exotic ones. Granted, most of it had been mixing minerals into water and adjusting sprinkler systems, and she had to admit that throwing water balloons at the one killer tree had been pretty fun. But still.

Venus felt bad about dragging Clawdeen throughout the garten all afternoon, but she didn't regret it. She'd done her best to kept it to all the necessities, but a lot of the more intelligent plants became uneasy when they sensed Clawdeen and made things even harder. She couldn't blame them though. Some have had unfortunate experiences with dogs trying to 'mark their territory' on them.

Clawdeen pushed open the door to her house, dreading the amount of work that still awaited her. Why, of all days, did today be have to be the day she was responsible for the house? The moment she was in, Howleen ran up to her.

"Where have you been!? You've been gone so long I was worried I was gonna have to—" Howleen stopped short as she registered what she was seeing. "Um, sis? What—"

"It's a long story that involves Toralei's lack of self control and a lot of sneezing," Clawdeen said brashly. "Mom's not home yet, is she?"

Howleen folded her arms. "Not yet. She shouldn't be back for another hour or so. Sis, why do look—"

"Hi, Howleen," Venus said.

The young werewolf's jaw dropped. "Venus?!"

"Like I said," Clawdeen huffed, "it's a long story."

"How—"

"I'll tell ya later. Right now I need your help with the dishes and laundry." She sneezed, but fortunately there were no plants nearby to go crazy.

Howleen's expression hardened. "I already did all my chores. What makes you think I'm gonna do yours?"

"Come on Howleen, can you help your sister out for once? I've had a really, really rough day. We've had a really rough day."

"And who's fault is that?" Howleen snapped back.

"Toralei's," Clawdeen growled. She held back another sneeze.

"Clawdeen?" Venus tried to interject. "Maybe—"

"Not now, Venus. Let me handle my sister."

Howleen's scowl deepened. "Handle me!?"

"That came out wrong," Clawdeen admitted.

"Yeah, it did."

"Look, can you just be helpful this one time? I don't wanna freak mom out with this whole fusion thing, but I'll have to face her if the chores aren't done when she gets home. I promise I'll make it up to you. What do you want? Do you want me to do your chores for a week? Free reign of my closet? Makeup?"

Howleen opened her mouth to respond, but Venus cut in. "Can I say something, Clawdeen?"

"I- fine," Clawdeen growled. Then she thought, _'Good luck. She rarely listens to anyone, even on a good day.'_

 _'We'll see,'_ Venus silently replied.

Howleen gave her a slightly nervous look. "You're not gonna try to use your pollen on me are you?"

Venus smiled. "Nah, I'm only using that to make Clawdeen sneeze for now. But I wouldn't use it even if I could. All I'm asking is that you listen."

Howleen immediately brightened. "Shoot."

"Your sister wasn't kidding about a exceptionaly rough day. It started when Toralei messed with something she shouldn't have just after lunch, and since then your sister and I have been fused together. We've had to work two schedules into one day, so you can blame me for keeping your sister so late. After an hour and a half trying to keep Lagoona and Jinafire from torching her designs for the competition and then another two working in the garden, we're dead tiered. I know this is in no way your fault, but we really do need your help."

"Wait, so you're not the only ones stuck like this?" Howleen cocked her head a little.

"Nope. Lagoona and Jin are together, Draculaura and Robecca have been rocking all over the place, and," Venus smiled slyly, "Cleo and Toralei are fused together."

Howleen snorted, then burst out laughing. "That's awesome! Please tell me you took pictures! Oh, and don't worry about the chores, I was never actually gonna make you do em, we'd never make guests do our work. I just wanted to make sure Clawdeen didn't think she could get away with passing her chores to me ever again."

"What!?" Clawdeen snarled.

Howleen ignored her. "You can just go to the kitchen and help yourself to anything. I'm gonna go press start on the laundry."

"Oh, so you're gonna be all nice and friendly to Venus but not your own sister?"

"Yeah, pretty much." And with that, the younger werewolf was off.

"Unbelievable," Clawdeen growled as she stalked to the kitchen. They sat down at the table. She really wished her sister would just grow up sometimes. Her temper was really starting to inflate, so she asked, "How'd you manage to do that? That wasn't pollen, was it?" in attempt to cover it.

"I'll tell you you later, Howleen's coming back." It really was amazing to be able to tell where someone was based on scent alone. Venus briefly wondered how anyone could manage to sneak up on a werewolf. Then she sensed Clawdeen's accumulated stress from the day and decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try in the first place. She herself felt like all the sun's energy had been drained out of her.

Howleen cocked her head when she saw Clawvenus sitting down. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Starving," Clawdeen said.

Howleen frownd. "Not you."

Clawdeen's temper spiked near its threshold. "We are sharing the same body," she said through gritted teeth.

"Water would be fine," Venus said quickly before Howleen could say anything else to anger Clawdeen.

"Sure thing."

Venus felt Clawdeen's anger still bubbling beneath the surface, and it was beginning to make her feel anxious. She tried taking deep breaths to calm them both down, but it only seemed to agitate Clawdeen even more. They sneezed again. Naturally.

"Here you are," Howleen passed them a full glass of cool water.

Clawdeen hadn't realized how thirsty they were until the water had touched their lips, and within seconds the glass was empty. It was weird, relying on so much water and sunlight, and it made her miss her own fur even more.

"Wow," Howleen said. "That was fast." And without waiting to be asked, she refilled the glass.

They drank a bit more slowly this time. All the while, Howleen's eyes wandered over them. Clawdeen found this a bit irksome, but Venus couldn't blame the pup. It's not like everyday for someone's sister to be fused with another ghoul.

Howleen finally stood up and pointed at their ears. "Would you mind if take a closer look?"

"You want to poke around at us!?" Clawdeen growled.

Howleen frownd again. "I wasn't asking you, Clawdeen."

Clawdeen's anger was rising to a dangerous point again. "It's alright, Clawdeen," Venus said quickly. "She just thinks it's cool."

Clawdeen's temper finally reached its peak. "She thinks it's _cool!?"_ Clawdeen snarled. She looked down at her leafy hands in disgust, then back up at her sister. All the day's frustration welled up inside her "Do you think it's _cool_ having to share your body with someone else? Do you think it's _fun_ feeling so dependent on the stupid sun, having to drink a gallon of water every hour, sneezing your head off every five seconds!? Do you think I'm _enjoying_ this!?" She was breathing hard now, rage at full force. "I didn't ask for any of this. I don't _want_ any of this. But I have to put up with it, so do me a favor, Howleen, and don't make it any harder. Just leave me alone." Now that she had expelled her rage a little, she felt something strange underneath it.

Howleen was staring at her in slack-jawed horror, and as her anger fully ebbed away, Clawdeen understood why.

"Oh, Venus, I didn't mean—"

"It's fine," Venus said in a soft voice. "It's fine," she said again a little more firmly. "We're all exhausted and confused. Let's-let's just go to bed.

But it wasn't fine, and Clawdeen knew it. She'd struck a tender cord during her outburst, and something had snapped between them. Now it felt like Venus was retracting, retreating, letting Clawdeen have full control. It was like watching a flower fold it's petals in on itself, hiding what was beneath.

"Yeah," Clawdeen said after a moment. "Yeah, you're right, we probably should." She mentally urged Venus to go ahead and take the lead, but she might as well have been urging an imaginary friend. Not knowing what else to do, Clawdeen stood up.

The time it took for them to get ready for bed passed in complete silence. Howleen, thankfully, had the sense to leave them alone. What concerned Clawdeen, however, wasn't the silence on the outside, but the silence on the inside. She could feel Venus's presence, but she could no longer tell what the plant ghoul was feeling. She remembered what Bonita had said about her needing to be more aware of the other's feelings and her guilt increased. She hadn't done that. She hadn't even tried until now.

They laid awake for some time, both tired yet unable to sleep. Clawdeen finally Spoke. "Venus?"

Silence.

"Come on, ghoulfriend. Talk to me."

But Venus didn't want to talk. She wasn't ready to talk. Not yet.

Clawdeen realized she wasn't going to get a response, so instead she turned inward and reached out toward Venus with her emotions. She was met by a wall of thorns. _A wall…_ Clawdeen thought regretfully. _Now I get it._

* * *

The morning passed much like the night had; Clawdeen took charge and Venus did nothing to interfere. She hated it. Clawdeen was used to being challenged over and over again, it was part of the unlife of a werewolf. It was a struggle, yes, but it was also what built her up, what pushed her to be greater. Great was the last thing she felt. She felt like a bad dog who had bitten the hand the fed her.

Clawdeen reluctantly entered the kitchen. She didn't feel like eating, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the guilt or the fusion. Both probably.

Howleen was already there and frying some bacon. She perked when she saw them. "Morning," she said brightly. "What would you like?"

Clawdeen knew better than to answer this time, so she waited to give Venus a chance to reply first. She didn't though.

Howleen cocked her head. "Venus?"

"I'm here."

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"I don't care. Whatever Clawdeen wants."

Howleen scowled. "Listen here, Venus. Do not let my sister take over you the way she tries to take over everything. Just because she's a wolf doesn't mean she gets to be alfa."

Both Venus and Clawdeen were taken a bit by surprise by this. Clawdeen immediately felt a bit of pride for her sister, then her inner puppy wagged its tail when she realized she could also tell what Venus had felt: appreciation. The wall had fractured.

"Thanks Howleen," Venus said, "but I really don't mind."

But the fracture was enough for Clawdeen catch what Venus really thought. I don't want to be a weed.

"That's it," Clawdeen said firmly. "We need to talk." She didn't wait for a response. She stalked out of the house and into the woods, walking until she found an open, sunlit area. She leaned against a large tree and tipper their face toward the sun. They stood and breathed deeply for a minute, soaking up the sun's warmth.

"I'm sorry," Clawdeen finally said. She wanted to add that she hadn't meant what she'd said, but realized Venus probably wouldn't believe it. Words said in anger were often honest. So instead Clawdeen said, "What I did was cruel and inconsiderate. I never meant to hurt you. I was so caught up in my own frustrations that I never stopped to consider how you were in the same boat." She could feel the wall of thorns start to crack, and through the crack she felt Venus's pain. "You are not the weed in this situation. My temper is, and my temper alone. And that's my problem to deal with, not yours." Clawdeen felt the wall crumble a little more, but she didn't know what else she could say without it sounding empty. So instead she chose to show Venus her guilt and shame, silently begging for forgiveness. A minute passed in silence, then she said, "You still haven't told me how you managed to persuade my little sis to help out so easily."

"Oh. That," Venus said. "It's this little saying my mom likes to use: Show them the rose before the thorns." And with that the wall fell. She couldn't hold it up any longer as she knew Clawdeen was truly sorry. She didn't want to keep blocking her out, and she'd be a hypocrite if she tried to well up her emotions. So instead she let them pool out, and Clawdeen did the same. Venus closed her eyes as Clawdeen finally shared her ever-guarded inner self.

She saw the struggles of growing up in a family full of wolves, all eager for the spotlight. There wasn't room to try and be considerate to the others because they weren't going to be considerate toward you. You had to act fast, grab onto what you wanted and mark it as yours. The moment you try to be sweet or gentle and give up what you desired for another, the others would take advantage of it. Venus saw how Clawdeen had witnessed this happen to Clawdia, her older and much more timid sister. So Clawdeen had found her passion and guarded it, made it her own. Venus would have thought it a rough life if she hadn't also known how Clawdeen felt about it. To Clawdeen it was just a regular part of life, no more significant than any other challenge. What was harder was reminding herself that she didn't need to be so aggressive or forceful outside of the family. Venus had heard of this, but being able to actually see it through Clawdeen's eyes and emotion let her really understand it and Clawdeen. Now it was time to show her side.

Clawdeen felt immensely relieved by Venus's forgiveness, and she was eager to investigate what she should have paid attention to from the start. The first thing Clawdeen found was passion, passion as powerful as her own yet completely different from hers. Venus loved the world's natural beauty and she wanted to share that wonder with everyone. But she also felt great sorrow as humans and monsters alike took advantage of it, never stopping to admire or consider. And for what? A moment's convenience? A second saved? She didn't enjoy standing for hours passing out flyers. She didn't find picking through trash every other day fun. But if she didn't do it, who would? With that passion came challenges. Clawdeen was used to her passion for fashion being met with enthusiasm and encouraging support. It was rattling to realize how differently Venus's passion was met. Countless days after countless days monsters scoffed, rolled their eyes, ignored, and avoided her. All small hurts that are easy to overlook on their own, but eventually it rubbed raw. Even the people Venus considered friends went silent when she began to rant. Not listening, just tolerating. It made Venus feel like a constat weed to those around her, but it was against he better judgement to let the subject rest. Venus had to defend what was left of nature, but there was nothing to defend the defender. Clawdeen understood now what cord she had struck, and she made a mental note to herself to growl at the next monster to roll their eyes at being told to take a second and put a can in the recycling.

A loud and startling ringing brought them both back to the present. Clawdeen flipped out her phone to see Howleen's face on the screen. "You ghouls comin' or what? It's time to go!"

"We'll be right there," Venus told her. "You ready Clawdeen?"

"Lets go do this thing."

"Oh, good," Howleen said, "you worked it out. Hey, how much longer will you be stuck like this?"

"Frankie said we should have it all fixed by the end of the day," Clawdeen said.

"Aw man," Howleen pouted. "I liked having Venus for an older sister."

Clawdeen rolled her eyes as Venus held back laughter. "Love you too sis." They shut off the phone and ran out of the forest feeling ready to challenge whatever the day would throw at them.

 **I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did writing it. No promises on when the next update is, but reviews always boost moral. The seeemingly missing section on the fassion cerfufle is covered in Lagoonafire's story, which will most likely be next.**

 **Till Next Time,**

 **RainStorm**


	2. Lagoonafire

Freaky Fusion Fragments: Lagoonafire

Frankie ran up to her combined friends with a broad smile. "Good news ghouls! Ghoulia knows how to fix all this!"

"Oh thank ra!" Cleo exclaimed. "I always knew she'd be able to figure it out. She's so good at solving my problems."

"The bad news," Frankie continued, "is that there's no way she can get that whole thing fixed by tonight. So…"

"Wait, wait, wait," Clawdeen said. "So you're saying we are going to be stuck like this all night!?" She sneezed, and the grass around her began to grow at a monster pace.

"Yeah, pretty much," Frankie admitted.

"Always knew she'd pull through, huh?" Toralei sneered.

"Excuse me, but if my best friend needs an extra night to fix your mess, Toralei," Cleo countered, "then so be it. Although I do admit that it's highly inconvenient."

"Come on, ghouls, it's only one night. I'm sure we'll be able to make it work out. It's not like we've got much choice," Robecca said.

"We'll just treat it like a sleepover!" Draculaura said. "You can all come over to my house!"

"Hmm," Jinafire contemplated. As much as she had come to enjoy the newfound thrill of the sleepovers hosted by her goulfriends, she couldn't allow too many distractions from her missions, namely the mission of her, Clawdeen, and Skelita winning the fashion challenge they had entered. Having another ghoul in your head was enough of a distraction, maybe enough to count as two. "While I admire your enthusiasm, many of us have obligations we must follow through on." She gave Clawvenus a significant look, and the werewolf- plantwolf?- nodded.

"Soooo, no sleepover then?" Draculaura asked with a little disappointment.

"Sorry love," Lagoona said. She was normally down with whatever, but she had to agree with Jinafire on this one. Sharing your body with someone wasn't an ideal position to be in for a sleepover. "Maybe another time." She was glad she'd already told Gil she wouldn't make it to swim practice.

"Hold on," Frankie said, "there's more."

"Not more dreadful news?" Cleo lamented.

"Not at all!" Frankie assured her. "I've been talking to the new students—"

"You mean the hybrids?" Toralei asked skeptically.

"Yep. And they think they might be able to help us out."

"It's worth a try," Venus said with a shrug.

* * *

"So, like, the ghost side of my family never really got along with the mermaid side, but there was always one activity that could bring both families together." Sirena floated along next to Lagoonafire. She'd led them to the school's outdoor swimming pool, but whether that was because she meant too or because she was lost in another world was unclear. She didn't appear to have any inclination to elaborate, so Lagoona spoke up.

"Um, swimming?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure! I love swimming!" This Sirena girl was certainly somethin'. Not the sharpest spine on the lionfish, but very fun and open. Lagoona liked her already.

Sirena drifted up to the diving board. Without a moment's hesitation, she leaped off it and managed four tight flips before slicing through the water.

"Crikey!" Lagoona exclaimed. She'd seen a lot of good swimmers, but no one she knew had ever managed a maneuver like that, not even her. This girl was _so_ on the swim team. "I've never seen someone pull off a quadruple reverse somersault without splashing! That was gorgeous"

"Like I said, we did a _lot_ of swimming in my family." Sirena did an extra twirl in the water for emphasis.

"You didn't say, actually," Jinafire pointed out.

"I didn't? Okay, we did a lot of swimming in my family!" She gave Lagoonafire a proud smile.

This made Lagoona laugh, but Jinafire didn't find anything humorous about it. She was getting tired of the mermaid-ghost's dawdling for they had a serious problem on their claws- er- fins? Jinafire wasn't sure anymore.

"Alright, Jinafire," Lagoona said. "You ready mate?"

Jinafire's heart skipped a beat as she realized that Lagoona expected her to get in the water. She quickly took care not to let Lagoona sense her reserves about getting wet. "Are you sure this is wise?" _'As nice as Sirena seems, I fail to see how this will be beneficial to either of us.'_ She didn't say this last bit out loud as she didn't want to hurt their new friends feelings.

"Oh, come on. A good swim is just what we need to let off a little steam." Lagoona was learning something about Jinafire; beneath the regal and calm exterior was an impatient and aggressive inner dragon. A constant fire that was both danger and passion. She'd always known Jin had a bit of a temper, which isn't a bad thing, but it was so polar opposite to her own chilled out tempo. Lagoona felt that if they could sooth Jinafire's inner dragon a little, just get her calm, they might be able to control the more literal fire.

Jinafire didn't resist as Lagoona lead them up to the diving board. As much as she'd rather not do this, master would be disappointed if she didn't at least try to learn something new. He'd once said that teachers could come in all shapes and sizes. Then again, he never said all shapes and sizes could be teachers. She was beginning to wonder if Sirena had any idea what she was doing.

Lagoona was well aware of Jinafire's hesitation, but she didn't want to disappoint Sirena. The mermaid was watching them eagerly, so Lagoona bounced a few time and propelled off the board. There was a rush of adrenalin as Lagoona lead them in the flips, so it wasn't until they'd nearly hit the water that Lagoona realized their body temperature had risen over a hundred degrees.

The moment they touched the water it went up in an enormous cloud of steam. There was hot, and then there was dragon hot. Lagoona knew that if she'd been in her own body she would be smoked salmon. "A little too much steam," she joked.

Jinafire sighed, unintentionally releasing more fire. She hadn't meant to do do that. She hadn't meant to lose control of her emotions. She needed to set her doubts aside and try harder. Even if it was seemingly all for not, master had taught her to find value out of any given situation.

Sirena drifted through the steam cloud happily, watching how her tail made it swirl. Lagoona found it amusing, but Jinafire found it irksome. Perhaps starting an inexperienced swimmer off with a complex dive wasn't the best idea, Lagoon realized. She'd go for something a lot simpler next time.

As the steam dispersed, they realized that Sirena had disappeared with it. They spent the next five minutes tracking her down, then another twenty-five refilling the pool. By the time they'd finished (and re-tracked Sirena), Lagoona's scales were itching to get back in the water. They'd successfully burnt half the lawn, torched three beachside chairs, half the hose, and covered the once polished white tiles in soot.

Jinafire's confidence in this plan was not boosted.

"Right, so," Sirena said, "lets try again, but this time don't do whatever you did to make the water go all poof. Okay?"

 _As if we hadn't already thought of that,_ Jinafire's metal voice hissed.

Lagoona nearly rebuffed her, but it ended up she didn't have to.

 _Patience, Jin, patience,_ the dragon told herself. A sharp tongue and temper won't get us anywhere. She let a slow breath to relieve her stress, and thus they torched their mermaid friend.

"Ooh, that tickles!" Sirena giggled as the flames passed through her ethereal tail.

Lagoonafire sighed in relief… which lead to more fire.

"This is fun!" Siena laughed. "Do it again!"

"Perhaps we should get to swimming," Lagoona suggested. "Before the evening passes."

So it was that they found themselves looking down from the diving board once again. Jinafire was no more enthused to find herself here than she was the first time, but she was ready to go through with it.

* * *

When 5:15 rolled around, Jinafire couldn't have been more relieved. Far from the image of grace, she and Lagoona had flopped around the pool as they tried to wrestle with their new form. Now her scales were thoroughly soaked through and her throat was raw from so much fire. And yes, a dragon's throat can get raw from that.

Lagoona had to admit to herself that this hadn't gone the way she'd imagined. True, they had managed to keep the water in the pool, mostly, and they didn't burn anything major… I'm grasping at threads here. Lagoona restrained a tired sigh; she'd figured out that only lead to fire by now.

As if in response to her thought, Lagoona got an apologetic vibe from Jinafire. "Don't worry about it, mate," she said aloud. "You tried your best, and that's all that really matters. You can't be good at everything." Up to this point, Lagoon had concluded that Jinafire was just a genuinely bad swimmer. But her last remark set off a different emotion in the dragon, one that she couldn't quite place a fin on. The closest thing she could think of was guilt.

Before Lagoona had any more time to ponder her personal emotions, Jinafire spoke up. "We should dry ourselves and go to the school's craft room. Skelita will be waiting, and with any luck Clawdeen will be too."

"That's right," Lagoona mused. "I wonder if she and Venus have had any better luck?"

The answer to that question was soon made clear when they found Clawvenus quite literally trapped at the foot of the school's entrance. A bramble-like vine had snaked around their left leg and had no interest in letting go no matter how they pulled.

Perhaps it was wrong, but Jinafire couldn't help but feel a spark of satisfaction. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one having a hard time.

Being otherwise preoccupied, Clawvenus didn't appear to notice their approach. Clawdeen had resorted to growling at the clingy plant.

"Need an extra hand?" The laughter was clear in Lagoona's voice.

Clawvenus jumped and turned around as best they could from their grounded position.

"Oh great, we have an audience," Clawdeen said sarcastically.

Jinafire smirked. "Well, if you'd rather be left to it, we'll just head inside…" She started to turn away.

"Ignore the grumpy werewolf," Venus said. "Yes, we could use some help."

Lagoona started to kneel with the intent of pulling the bramble away, but she made the mistake of trying to say the word 'here.' The 'he' was apparently close enough to a sigh, because the fire came bursting forth before she could stop it.

Clawvenus yelped and stumbled back away from the flames. A good thing to, because it would have engulfed their leg otherwise. Instead, the the vine was turned into charred bracken and they were able to pull free.

"Oops."

Clawvenus shrugged. "That's one way to do it," Venus said.

"Let's get inside before any more plants decide to turn on us," Clawdeen added.

As they walked up the entryway, Lagoona shot Clawvenus an amused grin. "So I take it you training didn't go all that well either?"

"You have no idea," Clawdeen grumbled. "You?"

"It went about as well as you'd expect dunking a fire breathing lizard into an icy pool would go."

If it had been anyone other than Lagoona, Jinafire might have taken offense at this. As it was, she knew the fish ghoul meant it all in good humor. When they reached the the craft room, something occurred to her. "Ghouls? What are we going to tell Skelita? I don't know about you, but I think she might not notice that we aren't entirely… ourselves."

"Same thing as we told Mr. Were, I suppose," Clawdeen said impassively.

Lying to a teacher was one thing, but Jinafire didn't like the idea of lying to one of her best friends. There was an urgency to keep the laboratory a secret, true, or else some students might go poking around where they shouldn't. But she trusted Skelita. She wasn't given any more time to ponder this decision before they walked into the room.

Skelita was already there setting out fabrics. When she looked up to greet them the shock was written plainly on her face. Before they had a chance to tell their fib, however, her expression morphed from one of surprise to one of understanding, then curiosity.

"Vaya, I knew something was going to be off about today, but I never would have guesses this. What happened to you chicas?"

Clawdeen didn't hesitate to dive into their tall tale. Skelita listened in silence with an unreadable expression, and that alone told Jinafire she wouldn't be as easy to fool as their drama teacher. Although, if was being completely honest, no one was as easy to fool as their drama teacher.

"And then Toralei, because, ya know, it's _always_ Toralei, messed with the machine doohickey-thingy and it broke before we could change back," Clawdeen ended poorly.

Skelita raised a painted eyebrow, then turned to Lagoonafire. "Jin, I'm in your mad science class. If any of that was true, it would be all over Spectra's blog. She's in there too."

"Oh. Well…" Clawdeen was visably trying to find a way around this. "Shoot."

"She brings up a good point," Venus said. " How have we avoided viral?"

"Last I knew, Spectra was obsessing over the backgrounds of those pobre hybrids," Skelita said. "My guess is we won't see her until that story is out. Bad for them, lucky for you."

Jinafire opened her mouth to speak, but Skelita held up her hand. "You don't have to explain right now if you don't want to. I'll understand. Right now, we have a competencia to win!" With that, the calaca began to show them the cloth she had selected.

Part of the competition's criteria involved using colors that aren't typically used together on a dress, or anywhere really. Namely, one dress made up of green and orange and another of red and silver. Skelita had gladly offered to do the green and orange one with the pretence that her monarch butterflies would give her some ideas, so Jinafire had taken the red and silver.

Skelita laid her selected shades out side by side. They were a sharp contrast with a darker green and sunset orange. "I cannot decide," Skelita was saying. "Sometimes I love it, but then sometimes it looks awful."

Lagoona looked at the colors, but she didn't didn't know what to say She dressed for comfort more than style, so she was hopeless with trying to get more than just the top and bottom match. She could tell if it looked good or bad, but trying to craft with colors and patterns was not her fotay.

Jinafire tried to think of some solution, but nothing came to mind. She was mildly surprised when it was Venus, and not Clawdeen, who spoke up.

"Try adding a bridge color, like a burnt orange or brown."

"Since when were you into design?" Clawdeen remarked.

"I'm not. But I am good with color."

"Huh-ah-ah-achoo!"

The sneeze was so unexpected than Lagoona jumped; she felt Jinafire tense. She felt a sinking sensation when she saw the bright yellow pollen now coating Skelita's fabric. _That can't be good._

But Skelita just laughed. "Yes, I do think some glitter would be a nice touch. But maybe grab some tissues, just in case."

Jinafire relaxed. If someone had damaged her project, even by accident, she would have been steamed. She admired Skelita's inability to get mad. Leaving Clawvenus to assist Skelita, she went over to her own manikin.

When she had offered to do the red and silver dress, Jinafire hadn't thought it would be all that difficult. She was quickly learning her mistake. The tricky part wasn't trying to match the two colors, it was trying to match the two colors _without_ the dress looking like a christmas themed ball gown. It became very frustrating, very fast.

She managed to find some deep red silk she liked and a whitish silver, but no matter how she tried she just could find how to stitch them together. Out of habit, her tail lashed out behind her. I whacked a manikin, causing it to tip over.

"Watch it!" Clawdeen snapped, catching the manikin before it could smash on the ground.

"Sorry!" Lagoona called out quickly, cutting Jinafire off before she had a chance to speak. "My bad." She knew Jinafire's intended response would only stoke the fire, and the last thing they needed was for Clawdeen and Jinafire's tempers to build of each other. She was glad to see taking the blame seemed to calm Clawdeen down a little.

"Yeah, it's fine."

 _You didn't have to do that,'_ Jinafire thought moodily. As she turned her attention back to her project, she realized that the silk between her claws had begun to smolder. She hissed, another of her irritation habits. Except this one had a much more dire consequence. The fabric caught fire like dry grass, creating an absurd amount of smoke.

Lagoona tried to beat out the fire, but it was spreading out too rapidly. She was vaguely aware of someone cursing in spanish, and then a wave of water doused her. Well… that worked, she thought as the shock of the event and the flames flickered out.

Jinafire was feeling less positive feelings as she glared straight ahead. This was the hundredth time she'd found herself drenched that day. At least she'd been ready for it the first few times. _Control, Jinafire, control,_ she told herself. "Thank you," she said a little forcibly. Her tail told a different story as it continued flick back and forth.

"Well, at least you aren't soaked to the bone," Skelita joaked.

Lagoona look at the skeleton and found that, indeed, some of the water had backlashed.

"If you guys are done, I could use some help over here," Clawdeen called out. Skelita gave them an apologetic look before going the help the other.

"You alright, Jin?" Lagoona asked.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Despite claiming to be fine, things only continued to go downhill. Her tail was way more sporadic than usual, causing more that a few things to be knocked over. Clawvenus couldn't keep their pollen to themselves, which really started to get on her nerves, be it fair or not. Although nothing else caught on fire outright, Jinafire could feel her body temperature steadily rise with each irksome accident. Everything she touched seemed to smoke or be reduced to cinders. (It was also quickly discovered that burnt pollen was not a pleasant aroma.)

Lagoona felt bad for Skelita. It was obvious that the calaca was trying her best to keep everyone calm, but, as predicted, Clawdeen and Jinafire continued to snap at each other. It wasn't until the second fire accident that she began to get really worried.

Jinafire hadn't meant to set Clawdeens manikin on fire, it just kind of happened. They'd been arguing over something, and a frustrated huff led to a jet of golden fire. Clawvenus barely moved out of the way in time. It was then that something dawned on her: _I'm a danger to everyone in this room._

Never before had it occurred to her just how big of a fire hazard this room was. She backed away from all the stacks of cloth and clusters of manikins, a sense of claustrophobia beginning to overwhelm her. The air felt suffocating as her breathing quickened, as if it no longer had the same appeal that it used to. The fire was welling up, the carpet under her feet was smoking.

"I have to go," was all she managed to say before she clamped her jaws shut and ran, leaving the fire and half destroyed room. She was glad that Lagoona made no attempt to stop her.

Franickly, Jinafire scanned the hallways for the familiar corridor. There was one place in this school that she alone bothered to go to, and it was there she needed to get. There was a moment's relief as she, at last, found what she was looking for: the small dojo beside the gym.

They'd barely shut the door when the fire went loose. Jinafire didn't try to stop it. She relished it, relished it as only a dragon could. All her frustration, humiliation, and furious anger came forth and out through the inferno. She burned the dummies relentlessly. She melted swords and maces as if they were made of wax. She painted the room black with her uncontrolled rage.

When her fire and frustration were finally spent she collapsed, panting, among the charred ruins of the dojo. And then she was ashamed. The inner dragon that had possessed her moments ago was gone, deserted, leaving her feeling as hollow as an eggshell. What would her father think if he'd seen this? She'd lost control like a pitious hatchling, and she couldn't blame it on her fusion with Lagoona this time. The guilt she felt was immense, and she was sorry her friend was there to witness her pathetic actions. A dragon was supposed to be composed, wise, a dignified leader. That is what she had been taught, and that is what she had failed.

"Oh, Jin, that's some heavy stuff to put on one dragon's shoulder," Lagoona said. "You can't really expect to be perfect, can you?"

"It is what is expected of me," Jinafire said sadly. "The people where I am from have always looked to the dragons for guidance. But if a dragon can hardly guid her own emotions," she gestured to the wreckage, "then she can hardly guide the people who look up to her." They both went silent for a while. "How do you do it?" Jinafire finally asked.

"Do what?"

"Stay so calm, so in control of your emotions. This entire time, you've been so relaxed while I've been torching dummies. How do you do it?"

Lagoona had to think this over a bit. "I guess it's because I know that no matter how many times I stumble, no matter how many time I ruin something or make a stupid mistake, I know that my friends are there to support me, to pick me back up so I can try again. And they're here for you too, Jinafire." Lagoona took a deep breath. "I'm gonna tell you some stuff that gonna be hard to hear, but you need to hear it Jin. You are going to mess up. You're going to lead your followers wrong. You're gonna stumble, and you're gonna fall. You are _not_ perfect, Jinafire. You never will be. And that's okay. True friends will love you anyway. They'll love you for your faults as much as your talents. And something tells me that even if your father saw this, he'd love you just the same. You can't be perfect, Jin, so stop beating yourself up whenever you make a mistake, alright?"

Never before had Jinafire had never felt so glad to be insulted. The truth behind Lagoona's words hurt, but it also gave her courage. Master would tell her to dive into this bizarre combination of emotions and to map out the depth and impact, find every scrap of learning to be gained. But she didn't. She instead said, "You're right. That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I'm always happy to talk whenever you need it." They were quiet for a moment before Lagoona decided to ask her something. "Hey Jin, can I ask you something? I want you to answer honestly."

"Sure."

"Are you afraid of water?"

"Of course not!" Jinafire scoffed.

"Mm-hm," Lagoona said sceptically.

Reluctantly, Jinafire added, "Perhaps I am _disconcerted_ by it, and I lack the training to comfortably maneuver through it."

"Sooo, what you're saying is that you can't swim."

Beat. "No, I cannot swim. And I've felt no inclination to try ever since my brothers dropped me in a rapid rapid river as a hatchling." She felt a moment of horrification from Lagoona. "Oh, they didn't mean me any harm. It just didn't occur to them that I wasn't big enough to swim with them."

Lagoona caught flashes of memory and emotion as Jinafire remembered the experience. A small, golden dragon watching her brothers curiously. Surprise at being unexpectedly lifted off the ground. Coldness, panic, nothing solid to grasp her talons around, pressure against her chest preventing her from drawing breath. Then the relief as she resurfaced and hid away in her father's arms.

"Ever since then," Jinafire said, "I learned to avoid both rapid waters and my brothers when they are roughhousing."

"And you've never been in water since?"

"No, not entirely. I do enjoy an occasional soak in a hot bath. I've just avoided anything deeper."

"Well, what-da-ya say we change that? I know our session earlier didn't exactly go swimmingly well," Lagoona sensed Jinafire's conscience roll her eyes at the pun, "but I do think Sirena was on the right track. Swimming requires a lot of coordination and control, two skills you already utilize. I think if we can get passed the your nerves, it will really help us both be more in sync with one another."

Jinafire hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Lagoona affirmed.

"Very well, let's give it another try."

* * *

The school's indoor pool was quieter than a whisper and lit very dimly, much like a seashore cavern. Blue light reflected of the waves and danced across the ceiling. Small shapes darted beneath the water like tiny, silver arrows. No one else was here, for which Jinafire was glad. She didn't want anyone watching her humiliate herself.

"Oh, stop doubtin' yourself, mate. We'll take it slow to start, but I'm sure you'll pick up on it like a piranha on a fresh steak," Lagoona encouraged. Now that Jinafire had finally cut loose, it was plain that the dragon was more than a little nervous about getting her claws wet.

Lagoona walked around to the shallow end of the pool and climbed down the ladder. The moment they felt water touch their feet, Jinafire got very tense. The water was only waist deep, so Lagoona walked them out until it reached their chest. "Alright, Jin, you're gonna have to try and relax. Let me take the lead so you can grow familiar with the strokes."

Jinafire tried to focus on forcing her muscles to grow limber, but her spine remained stubbornly locked up. Her tail lashed out in irritation. She was regretting her agreement to this more and more, but it was too late to back out now. She felt her core raise in temperature. _Wow_ , Jinafire realized. _Maybe I'm more afraid than I realized._ She took a deep breath. She couldn't force control. This wasn't just her body anymore. Slowly, she felt her spine begin to relax and her tail grow still as she handed the lead to Lagoona.

Lagoona was patient. Once she felt that Jinafire was ready, she tilted forward. A bit of Jinafire's tension returned, so Lagoona tread in place until her partner relaxed again. She was strongly reminded of that hatchling from Jinafire's memory.

 _This isn't so bad,_ Jinafire thought. It didn't take much effort, and she was beginning to like the way the moving water felt against her scails. And then they went under.

Too late, Lagoona realized she should have given Jinafire a vocal warning before going below the surface. The dragon immediately locked up again with a bit of panic. She began to claw toward the surface as the lack of air pressed on her lungs.

 _'Jin! Jin, relax! You're alright, mate, just calm down and breath. Just breath'_

Jinafire froze. Every ounce of her instincts told her that she shouldn't do this, but she forced herself to take a breath anyway. Jinafire shuddered at the strange sensation of water coursing through her lungs, but the more she breathed, the more natural it seemed. Soon, it felt just as ordinary as breathing air, if a bit cooler.

"A little warning next time," Jinafire huffed.

"Sorry," Lagoona apologised. "But on the bright side, at least the worst of it is over. Look, you're swimming!"

Jinafire looked down. She hadn't realized it in her brief moment of panic, but they had drifted over the drop-off that marked the deep end of the pool. An abyss of water stretched beneath their claws. Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't freak out again. Lagoona took that as a good sign.

"Come on! There's a lot of really neat stuff down here." Lagoona began to swim downward.

Jinafire was finding, now that she wasn't worried about keeping her head above water, she was actually enjoying the sensation of swimming. Many people describe or imagine flying to be a defiance of gravity, as if those with wings suddenly become weightless. Master believed differently. He described flying as a constant battle against gravity, a struggle to stay aloft. This, however, swimming… It made her truly feel as if no weight were pulling against her, as though she were suspended yet completely free to do as she wished. Her tail flicked, and Jinafire began to try and move with Lagoona instead of sitting back.

Lagoona was happy that Jinafire was really taking to the swimming lesson. They miss-stroked a few times as she tried to get the hang of it, but Lagoona felt their movements grow more and more in sync as the continued to swim down. Getting used to having a fifth appendage was definitely a little tricky for Lagoona, but she soon learned to work their tail to their advantage.

Soon, formations began to emerge from the dark water. They were nothing more than dark lumps and branches as they could see of yet. Lagoona got a questioning vibe from Jin when she came to a halt.

"Just wait for a moment," Lagoona said. She looked down at her waterproof watch. "Any second now."

A small speck of silver-blue light appeared on one of the shadowy lumps. Another appeared beside it, and then another. The lights spread out until the entire mound was full of light. And it wasn't the only one. Reds and purples glowed off the other shapes, lighting the water with a soft, rainbow glow.

Jinafire's sharp dragon eyes picked out thousands of small tendrils and leaf-like antenna extending from what she now understood was a coral reef. She swam a little closer with surprising ease.

She drifted slowly among the coral, careful not to touch the delicate glowing fibers. There were so many variations, so many colors! And then it hit her. Here was the perfect source of inspiration she was needing for the new fashion line! This beautiful underwater city held so many mesmerizing patterns and designs and sensations! Including red and silver… And it had been at her clawtips all along, if only she'd been willing to get out of her comfort zone.

"Like it?" Lagoona asked with a knowing smile. A part of her wished she could see Jinafire's face, but then she wouldn't be able to feel what the dragon was currently feeling. And she was definitely satisfied with the vibes she felt flowing off her.

"I never knew the plants down here were so beautiful. I always imagined it to be a bunch of seaweed and kelp and other such things."

Lagoona laughed. "Coral's not a plant, mate, it's in the animalia kingdom. A cnidarian."

"A ny-what now?"

"Cnidarian. It's the same phylum as jellyfish, except that it doesn't have a medusa stage," Lagoona explained.

"Medusa? As in Duce's mom? I am very confused, Lagoona."

"They are named after her, probably because some random scientist decided that a jellyfish's tentacles looked like gorgon hair, I don't know. The medusa stage is what you typically think of when talking about jellyfish- the free roaming stage. But there is actually a stage in its life cycle before that, and it looks a lot like this coral here," Lagoona gestured to the glowing reef. "Well, the individual coral anyway." She pointed to a single circular form with only one thendral protruding from it. It was nestled among ten thousand others identical to it, which made up the mound.

"Interesting," Jinafire said. Biology wasn't a subject she was typically thrilled to study, but after the day she'd had she was feeling very open to trying new things. "And so why is it glowing?"

"Because it's feedin' time! During the day the coral sleeps, and at night it spreads its filaments to catch microscopic particles from the water."

Jinafire peered closer. She wanted to memorize as much of these shapes as she could- she didn't know if she'd ever get an opportunity like this again. As she studied the formatios, a small silver flash out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Curious, Jinafire turned her head. She couldn't see anything amiss, so she swam toward where she thought she'd seen it. The silver flashed again, and this time Jinafire turned her head quick enough to see a small silver fish darting around. Her tail twitched.

Lagoona smirked knowingly. "You want to chase it, don't you?"

"Very much so, yes." Call her a hatchling, but Jinafire loved the thrill of a chase… as long as there was no one within a ten mile radius to witness her doing it. What would Master, or worse, her brothers, say if they saw her step down to such childish actions?

"Then be my guest. I'm afraid that charred sushi we had before coming down here wasn't very satisfying, so we could do with a snack."

Jinafire slowly snaked forward, careful not to create too much turbulence. There was an open expanse of water just beyond the reef. The fish was on the border of the reef, far enough out to be exposed yet close enough to dart back to the safty of its coral caves should it be threatened.

Jinafire was now as close as she dared to get without alearting it. She made a sudden lunge. As expected, the fish went right for the reef, but Jinafire was one step ahead of it. She twisted onto her back mid lunge and propelled herself in front of the coral, blocking her prey's escape.

In a flash, the minnow turned tail and swam in the opposite direction as fast as a bullet, strait into open water. Jinafire swam after it, raking her claws through the water. Lagoona helped by guiding her strokes, for which she was glad.

The currents here were noticeably stronger. Jinafire's instincts wanted her to fight against it, but instead she followed Lagoona's direction and moved with it, using it to her advantage. They were gaining on the fish, but it was headed straight for a maze of underwater columns.

 _'Foolish fish,'_ Jinafire thought gloatingly. _'Don't you know that dragons are the most agile beings to walk the earth?'_

 _'Probably not,'_ came Lagoona's voice. _'I mean, he is a fish.'_

They dove right into the maze. Jinafire was able to navigate around and through the arches with ease. They almost had it, just a little further.

In a last, desperate bid for freedom, the fish did a sharp turn around one of the columns. Their momentum was too great to stop and snatch the fish without smashing into the rock, so Jinafire arched their body around it in a turn so tight that she could feel the column brush against their blouse. With a final swish of the tail, they trust forward and pinned the small fish against a rock.

"Crikey," Lagoona said, "I've never managed a turn like that, even on the best of days."

"One of the few perks of having a tail," Jinafire said. "Unfortunately, it's more often than not just in the way."

"Well hey, anything that earns us a free snack is good in my book," Lagoona said. "Let's go cook this guy up."

Lagoona led them to an underwater cave where Jinafire could freely use her fire to roast the fish. It was a little over done, but at least it wasn't black this time.

They ate in silence for a while before a thought occurred to Lagoona. "Do you think we should tell Sirena about this? I think it's safe to say we've improved a lot."

Jinafire thought for a moment, then smiled. "Nah, let her have the spotlight. I see no reason to discredit someone who tries to help us… even if the help is very loose."

Lagoona liked this idea.

A sudden ding alerted them to their phone. They looked down and found a text from Skelita. Odd. After the - ah - incident in the dojo, they had confirmed with their mexican friend that they were alright and sorry for mess they'd left behind. So why would she be texting them now?

It was addressed to Jinafire: I'm not sure how to explain this, I never am, but it hasn't gone away. The feeling. When I saw you and Clawdeen, I was sure that was what it was, but now… I don't know when, I don't know how, but something else is coming. Something big.

"Um…" Lagoona could find no better comment to such a bizarre text.

Jinafire, on the other hand, understood it perfectly. "Skelita's bone feelings," she said. "I've no idea how it works, just that it does. They are never wrong. And if she's still getting the chill after seeing this whole fusion kerfuffle…"

"What, are you saying that something even more colossal than this is gonna happen?"

Jinafire's silence was all the answer she needed.

"Crikey," she muttered. "Well, whatever it is, we won't know it till we see it. What-da say we get some rest?"

Jinafire knew where Lagoona was coming from. Her entire being was drained after such a chaotic day. Both physically and emotionally.

They curled up right there in the underwater cave using a bed of soft seagrass.

 _I ought to write to father about this,_ Jinafire thought sleepily. _He'd love to here all about it. I'll leave out a few… parts. But it would be a wasted experience not to record what it is like to literally be more than yourself. To be Lagoonafire._

* * *

 **Alright, here it is! I know it took a wile, but I am never willing to force a story. Also, I was sort of writing Dracubecca in parallel to this one early on, so with and luck it'll be ready sooner. No promises. (And yes, the next one will be Dracubecca.)**

 **Till Next Time,**

 **RainStorm**


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